Tag Archives: Lake City Community Center

Lake City-based Hunger Intervention Program (HIP) works to bring food to local families and now seniors through its Healthy HIP Packs Program, meal programs, and by advocating for our hungry neighbors.

On Sunday, September 28th, Hunger Intervention Program (HIP) is hosting its first annual HIP Fest to increase awareness and support for its vital work. HIP is a Lake City-based anti-hunger organization that provides nutritious meals, basic cooking skills, and nutrition education to families, children and seniors in the north Seattle area.

HIP Fest will take place at the Lake City Community Center (12531 28th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98125) from 1-4pm and will be a fun family event featuring games, a raffle, a cake walk and delicious food. Admission is a suggested donation of $5 per person and will include food. Tickets can be purchased at the event for games, cake walk and raffle entries. Raffle prizes include passes to Woodland Park Zoo, EMP passes, a tour of KEXP studios, box seats to the Everett AquaSox, Two Dog Yoga classes, goodies from the Lake City Farmers Market, gift card to Kaffeeklatsch, and more. A special thank you to our sponsors – Union Bank, QFC, Lake City Lions, and North Seattle Chamber of Commerce – for their generous support of this event.

Lunch time at one of HIP’s summer meal sites. Credit: Craig P Stehling

HIP has been fighting hunger in Seattle since 1998. We’re actively working with our community partners to end hunger in Lake City. HIP’s staff and 90+ volunteers lead cooking demonstrations at North Helpline Food Bank each week, teaching easy and delicious recipes. During the summer you can find HIP in local parks and playgrounds serving fresh, healthy and free lunches and snacks for kids and teens. During the school year, we put together Healthy HIP Packs, a weekend food program that makes sure kids at risk of hunger at John Rogers, Viewlands, Olympic Hills and Briarcrest Elementary schools have food to eat when out of school. All year long, seniors can enjoy HIP’s nutritious weekly meal every Monday at the Lake City Community Center. This fall we’ll be partnering with the Lake City Library to offer free afterschool snacks to kids and teens in partnership with their Homework Help program.

Come celebrate the start of the school year and the harvest season with your local community at HIP Fest! For more information about HIP Fest and to see our programs in action, visit www.hungerintervention.org.

Lake City-based Hunger Intervention Program (HIP) works to bring food to local families and now seniors through its Healthy HIP Packs Program, meal programs, and by advocating for our hungry neighbors.

Credit: Craig P Stehling, Momentum Imagery

Five sites in the Lake City/NE Seattle area are now open for kids and teens to visit all summer long to enjoy free meals and snacks. On top of that free activities, games, reading and more are offered at each site. The overall goal is to provide fun meal sites that make sure kids get the nutrition they need while out of school and get in all the fun play time that a summer should be filled with.

Lake City nonprofit, Hunger Intervention Program, runs four meal sites in the neighborhood. All meals are made fresh by HIP volunteers. To see specific hours and locations, visit HIP’s blog. Families can check out the weekly menu there too.

Summer meals are also a great place for volunteering. If you would like to help prepare meals, help out at a meal site or lead kids in your favorite activity this summer, sign up to volunteer with HIP this summer at HIP’s website or contact Julia at (206) 457-2871. We still need many volunteers at our meal sites and are looking for volunteers to drive our meals to sites.

For families that live outside of the Lake City area, the best way to find the nearest summer meal site to you is at ParentHelp123. Just type in your zip code for a listing of sites closest to you. Or call 1-888-436-6392 or text FoodWA to 877-877

Lake City-based Hunger Intervention Program (HIP) works to bring food to local families and now seniors through its Healthy HIP Packs Program, meal programs, and by advocating for our hungry neighbors.

Credit: Craig P Stehling, Momentum Imagery

Hunger Intervention Program (HIP) is serving FREE summer lunches to kids at four sites in the Lake City area this summer and we need your help!

We are looking for volunteers who love to prepare and serve delicious lunches, lead fun activities for kids, get the word out so we can feed more kids, transport meals & supplies in the HIP van, and so much more.

Last summer, 90 HIP volunteers made it possible to share nearly 5,000 meals with Lake City children and teens in parks, housing developments and at local schools. This summer we’re hoping to serve even more meals with your help.

The Lake City Farmers Market will open June 12 for its 2014 season, Thursdays 3-7:00 pm through October 2. However, 2014 may be the market’s last season in Lake City.

History
The Lake City Farmers Market was founded in 2002 by the non-profit Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance (NFMA), with help from the Lake City Chamber and volunteer community stakeholders. The market thrived through 2008, but as the economy fell the market saw a precipitous drop in shopper counts and vendor sales. Since then, market growth has remained flat.

A vendor awaits customers at the Lake City Farmers Market in 2013. (FFLC photo)

Remediation
Last year, NFMA redesigned the market layout, reactivated the park, added new farmers, and expanded the vendor mix as part of a remediation plan to improve market performance. However, the shopper counts and sales to farmers remained flat. In contrast, other NFMA markets saw significant growth in 2013.

Other concerns about the Lake City location compound the issue. Repeated theft of market equipment and squatting in the market shed and parking lot raised safety concerns for staff throughout the 2013 season. Unless shopper attendance, sales to farmers, and staff safety improve in 2014, the market will be re-located in 2015.

The NFMA has undertaken remediation efforts in other neighborhoods with success. Collaboration with community volunteers and the local business association helped Columbia City’s market thrive despite an adjacent development project. In Magnolia, significant sponsorships, hours of on-site volunteer help and a relocation helped the Magnolia market grow by 25%.

A Lake City market vendor sorts greens during the 2013 season. (FFLC photo)

Hot pancakes served at the Lake City Community Center (photo courtesy of LC Lions Club)

The Lake City Lions Club is hosting a Pancake Breakfast at the Lake City Community Center this Saturday, April 5 from 9:00-11:00 a.m. This fundraiser will benefit Sacajawea Elementary. All money raised goes directly to the school, which plans to use the money to offset the cost of science camp for 4th & 5th grade students.

The Lions Club hosts similar events for all Lake City-area elementary schools throughout the year, including: Olympic Hills, Sacajawea and John Rogers. The Lions provide the venue, food and all the cooking. This Saturday, look for 3rd and 4th graders from Sacajawea to also be hard at work, as they’ve volunteered to help bus tables and serve as waitstaff.

Breakfast includes pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage, juice and coffee. Each school sets their own prices, so the cost varies with each event, but typically ranges around $8 for adults and $5 for children.

The Lake City Community Center is sporting a shiny new paint job this week. Home Depot in Shoreline supplied all the paint and materials as well as their own expert volunteers who helped run the project. Community volunteers stepped forward to help too, including volunteers from the Lake City Lions Club, Lake City Toastmasters, and two center supporters, Denise from Dancin’ with Denise (line dancing) and Nancy Cubbage, the center’s resident mosaic art instructor.

Wednesday the center was taped and prepped. Thursday was a hive of activity as the whole bottom floor interior was painted. Painting was completed by Thursday night – just in time to surprise attendees at tonight’s Fright Night celebration.

If you’d like to stay informed about volunteer opportunities like this & other community announcements, please sign up for the Lake City Neighborhood Alliance (LCNA) email alert list at lcna-seattle.org.

Since last spring, the University YMCA has been partnering with the Lake City Community Center to provide recreational programming options for our neighborhood. The fall season kicked off last week with free trial classes.

This week, Session 1 is now underway and offers two daytime classes – Zumba and Total Strength. A session pass gives you access to both classes. Childcare is also available, with qualified YMCA staff hosting it. If you’re looking for workout options, stop by the community center and give it a try.

Zumba, Mon. & Wed. mornings, 9:30-10:30am

Zumba is a fun dance workout that incorporates Latin and International music. Appropriate for all levels.

Total Strength, Mon. & Wed. mornings, 10:30-11:30am

Total strength is a strengthening and toning class for the whole body. Suitable for experienced or beginner exercisers.

Costs

Drop in – $8, Drop in childcare – $5 per child

$50 per session (access to 4 classes/wk for 4 weeks), Classes are free for Y members

Childcare available for 6 months-5 yr olds. $30/session for 1 child, $15/session for each additional child

This Saturday, June 1st, join the YMCA for their Showcase Y-Event at the Lake City Community Center. This FREE event will demonstrate four classes the YMCA could offer in our area: Zumba, Barre, Salsa and Yoga. Not sure what to do with the kids? The YMCA is also offering a concurrent Hip Hop Studio Production for kids and teens to work with a local hip hop artist.

Does your child dream of being a pirate, with a parrot perched on her shoulder? Or maybe just want to learn more about parrots? Bring your kids down to the Lake City Community Center this Thursday, May 30th between 3:30 and 5:30pm for a FREE parrot experience!

Children can have their photos taken with a parrot perched on their shoulders. This event also includes craft making, snacks, and the chance to learn from parrot experts.

This event is sponsored by the Flight Club Foundation. Every Thursday, the Flight Club meets at the Lake City Community Center, where members have the opportunity to socialize their birds. The birds are also able to practice flying in the center’s large open room.

The Flight Club Foundation is working with Zazu’s House and Bob Dawson’s Macaw Rescue & Sanctuary to help find homes for abandoned and rescued parrots. Donations for this event are gladly accepted and will help fund that work.

Lots! Since January, the Lake City Community Center has been under new management. While the building itself looks much the same, the operations inside are expanding and changing.

One exciting change is that the Lake City Community Center staff is working with the University YMCA to begin offering programming at the center this summer. To kick it off, the Y is hosting a “Y Showcase Event” on June 1st, 1-4pm at the Lake City Community Center. This free drop-in event will offer sample Zumba, Yoga, Barre, and Salsa classes with concurrent free childcare. There will also be a drop-in hip-hop production studio for teens.

Give Your Feedback!

The Y would like your feedback as they plan for future Lake City programming. Please take their Lake City YMCA Program Survey. It takes less than 5 minutes and will help the Y in determining various programs, childcare, and pricing for the Lake City neighborhood.

Communication and the Arts

Artist Yvonne Palka leads a sumi brush painting lesson.

The Lake City Community Center (LCCC) also now has an active website, including descriptions of upcoming events and a linkable calendar. Just today at the center, a group of homeschoolers was enjoying this sumi brush painting lesson with artist Yvonne Palka.

Coming up on June 15th is a mosaic class with Nancy Cubbage, a mixed media fine artist and Lake City local. Ms. Cubbage will be offering a series of different mosaic classes for youth, teens and adults at the community center. Visit the LCCC website and sign up to create a beautiful birdhouse like the one pictured here.

A sample bird house by artist Nancy Cubbage. Come create your own June 15th at the Lake City Community Center

But wait… There’s more!

A new Cultural Arts Program is also in the works at the Lake City Community Center. Called The ARTery, this group’s vision is to create and support artistic opportunities for everyone in Lake City. Visit their website here to learn more.

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Lake City Live (LCL) is a community news and information source. It’s written for and about Lake City by volunteers and people with an interest in their neighborhood. As LCL is acting as a grassroots community bulletin board and information source and does not have a formal organizational structure, those that post here are solely responsible for their content. You can see all our posting guidelines by clicking here.